TRUMP, A POPULIST PRESIDENT, IS FLANKED BY TECH BILLIONAIRES AT HIS INAUGURATION

That's a shift from tradition, especially for a president who has characterized himself as a champion of the working class. Seats so close to the president are usually reserved for the president's family, past presidents and other honored guests. Photos show the tech CEOs mingling with several of Trump's picks for the Cabinet, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary and Marco Rubio as secretary of state.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1400077361/1737587103/articles/tTQi62lYB1737632424331/mK02XD19h1737632551178.jpg]
In one image, Rubio looks on from the background, facing a lineup of tech's wealthiest leaders. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, stand beside Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his fiancee, Lauren Sánchez, along with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk, one of Trump's closest advisers. The world's wealthiest person, Musk also runs Tesla, SpaceX and the social platform X.
Also at the Capitol for the day's events were Apple CEO Tim Cook and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
The mega-rich have long had a prominent role in national politics, and several billionaires helped bankroll the campaign of Trump's Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden recently gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to George Soros, a billionaire donor to liberal causes.
But the inaugural display highlights the unusually direct role the world's wealthiest people will likely have in the new administration. In his outgoing address, then-President Joe Biden warned that the U.S. was becoming an oligarchy of tech billionaires wielding dangerous levels of power and influence on the nation.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1400077361/1737587103/articles/tTQi62lYB1737632424331/vT72167CX1737632575296.jpg]
Elon Musk's Prominence During Inauguration Ceremonies Stamps Tech Titan's Place in Trump's Orbit
Getting humans to Mars has long been an obsession for SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. On Monday, that project got a full endorsement from the newly sworn-in president.
During his inaugural address, President Donald Trump promised he would "pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts who plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars."
Musk, standing just a few feet away, grinned widely and pumped his fists in the air.
The moment sharply illustrated the unusual partnership the billionaire tech titan, who has lucrative contracts with the federal government, has established with the incoming president.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1400077361/1737587103/articles/tTQi62lYB1737632424331/kPsBvodMs1737632589830.jpg]
The blossoming relationship was on full display throughout the inaugural ceremonies. Musk heaped praise on Trump during a rally shortly after the swearing-in, repeating Trump's promise of a coming "golden age" for the country.
"It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured," Musk told the crowd at Capital One Arena.
On his social media platform X, Musk posted his approval of Trump returning to power for a second term: "The Return of the King." During the inauguration inside the Capitol Rotunda, Musk was seated in a row that included other tech giants, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. All were seated behind Trump's wife, Melania, and children, though Musk was seated closest to Trump.
Shortly after Trump's youngest son, Barron, arrived at his seat in the second row, he turned and shook hands with Musk, who was visible in the televised shot...